Magic in Fantasy Books

I am currently reading a book by one of my new favourite authors; Brandon Sanderson (http://brandonsanderson.com/) called Mistborn. I am only about halfway through, but I am quite impressed. This is the kind of fantasy writing I aspire to. His characters are incredible and the magic system in this series is something else. It is not just wizards throwing fireballs and summoning lightening, but based more on science, metals in particular. I don’t want to give too much away, but reading this gets me thinking about magic in fantasy books. I will admit, in my book, there really isn’t much magic. I like fantasy settings, but I’ve never been too keen on the magic aspect. It always seemed too convenient. Whenever a character is in trouble, they discover a new power they never knew they had and are able to escape. I more enjoy the problem solving aspect of writing, even though I have written myself into many corners. This is probably why I enjoy a writer such as George rr Martin over a writer such as Raymond E Feist. If you have read the Song of Ice and Fire series, or at least watched the show- if you haven’t what have you been doing with your life?- you know what I mean. There is not a lot of magic involved in those books and the magic that exists, is quite subtle.

Anyways, back to Mistborn. When I began reading this book, I was not in a reading mood at all. In fact, I read about five pages and then put it down for a month, not because it didn’t interest me, but I just didn’t feel like reading, or writing for that matter. But I am glad I picked it up and now all I want to do is read which in turn, makes me want to write. I will reserve judgment on this book until I am finished, but as my cousin has told me, it only gets better. He has read all three books in the Mistborn trilogy and tells me that there will be two more trilogies and two standalone books, bringing the total to eleven. If the early part of the first book is any indication, I think I have found my next long running series to read. Of course I will drop whatever I am reading to read the next Ice and Fire book, and hopefully one day, I will feel the same way about the Mistborn books.